Principals Carl W. Kerby Richard M. Kane

More than Business Partners

When Carl Kerby and Rick Kane first met in 1977, they formed a close friendship based on mutual respect and trust.  At the time, Kane was working in architecture, and Kerby was already a successful Waynesboro area home builder.  During the building boom of the late ‘80’s, Kerby began urging Kane to join him in his business.  Over lunch one day in 1990 Kane finally said “yes” to Kerby’s offer, and they have been working together from that very same afternoon.

When Carl Kerby, President, founded the Westhills Company in 1970, he had worked in the building industry for 10 years, first for a building supply company and then for a contractor.  He knew from the start that home building would be his life’s work and that he would be a hands-on type of builder.  “I have always enjoyed working in the field,” he says.  “I still visit job sites every day. I want to make sure the whole process from properly placing the home on the site all the way thru the final trim detailing is done to the Westhills standard.”

Rick Kane, Vice President, brings a vast amount of experience and expertise to the firm.  An architectural graduate of Virginia Tech, Kane handles marketing, real estate brokerage, and design.  Using a sophisticated CAD system, Kane is able to manipulate custom home drawings with the touch of a button.  “We’ll be in a preliminary meeting with a client and they’ll describe changes they’d like to see, such as deleting a bedroom,” says Kane.  “I’m able to go to the CAD system and return five minutes later with a new drawing in hand.”

Having a team of experts working on each home is an important key to his success, maintains Kerby.  He employs a staff of a dozen or so people; some of the employees have been with him for over twenty years.  “Every member of the organization is important to our success,” says Kerby.  “It takes each of them to achieve what we have.”

"Mrs. Cannon and I want to commend Mr. Kerby and all of the Westhills personnel who constructed our new home. We are VERY pleased with the results. We selected Westhills to be the general contractor because of its reputation as a premier builder and because of its unquestionable integrity." -- Carl & Mildred Cannon

Homes that Stand Apart

Westhills Company builds twelve to fifteen homes a year that range in size from 1,600 to 12,000 square feet and in price from $250,000 to $1 million.  “Our niche,” Kerby says, “is 2,600 to 4,000 square feet contract custom, but we also build and sell a number of spec homes each year.  We have been successful with speculative homes primarily because we ‘take the bugs out of the plans’ before we build the house.  We have a reputation of giving people what they are looking for.”

A great deal of research goes into the creation of each Westhills home.  “We attend home shows, kitchen and bath shows, and visit other markets to evaluate the latest trends,” Kerby says. Innovative design, he adds, is high on their buyers’ priority lists, as well as lots of detail work, bonus areas, quality materials, and luxurious kitchens and baths.

Kerby says that quantity has never been one of the company’s goals; instead the Westhills team focuses its attention on putting extra touches in each home.  For example, they work closely with the subcontractors and the customers to ensure that electrical receptacles and HVAC outlets are properly placed.  Adds Kane, “When you walk in a Westhills house, it has a different feel—an elegant feel, we’re told.  A lot of it is the quality of our finish and trim work.”

It is quality even in the things you cannot see that sets a Westhills home apart.  Kerby is meticulous in his trade and feels a home should be built carefully from the inside-out.

Primarily a Waynesboro, Augusta County based builder, we have thought of expanding into the Lexington market for years, but it wasn’t until we saw The Ponds of Lexington did we feel that the time was right.  Our unique quality of construction and design fit well into the upscale Ponds of Lexington.  It’s views, the master plan, the ponds and the club house were the drawing card, but with the proximity to the interstate, downtown Lexington, VMI and Washington & Lee, the choice to expand into the Lexington market was a logical choice.